Tarso Costa

• PhD
• Biologist at Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves

Microplastics, which are accumulating in marine sediments, are assumed to pose a risk for deposit feeding invertebrates. We tested whether the fiddler crab Uca rapax ingests and retains microplastics in its body. Furthermore, we investigated whether retention rates depend on (a) the quality of the marine environment in which the plastics were pre-w...

The Azores bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina Godman, 1866) is a rare Passeriformes endemic from the eastern part of São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal. This bird was almost considered extinct in the first half of the 20th century, but due to recent conservation measures, it has experienced a recovery since the beginning of the 2000s. Despite the attentio...

Population biology of the intertidal crabs Pachygrapsus marmoratus Fabricius, 1787 and P. maurus (Lucas 1846) was investigated at cobble beaches with different levels of wave exposure. Surveys were taken monthly over 1.5 years at three intertidal levels. The growth rate of both species was similar, although P. marmoratus reached larger sizes. This...

Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763), found in mangroves along the Brazilian coast, is an artisanal fishery resource harvested as a source of income and for subsistence. A 12 month study of U. cordatus was conducted in a mangrove area of the southeastern Brazilian coast to estimate the growth, longevity, sex ratio and population density of the crabs. A...

O presente estudo teve como principal objetivo resgatar o conhecimento tradicional e empírico dos pescadores artesanais sobre o seu principal recurso pesqueiro no manguezal de Guapimirim, baía de Guanabara. As percepções dos pescadores sobre o caranguejo-uçá produziram informações úteis sobre a periodicidade de eventos importantes do ciclo de vida...

This report presents the results of monitoring the Achada stream's headwaters, located on the Graminhais plateau and one of the intervention areas of Action C4.3 of the LIFE IP Azores Natura project. The monitoring consists of monitoring the water dynamics of the peat bog and the upper part of the Achada stream, close to its source. The variation o...

This report presents an evaluation of the restoration carried out in Mata dos Bispos (under Action C4.3 of the LIFE IP Azores Natura project), in areas identified as invaded Laurissilva forest and forest dominated by Pittosporum undulatum. The results of the monitoring of plantations carried out in other areas of Mata dos Bispos are also presented....

Introductions of close related species provides an opportunity to study differences in life history traits and their ability to cooccur in syntopy. We examine a case in which three species of Megabalanus barnacles coexist syntopically along the tropical southwestern Atlantic. A comparative life history study, focusing on parameters such as size, di...

Action C6 of the LIFE+ Terras do Priolo project (LIFE12 NAT/PT/000527), entitled 'Environmental requalification project for the creation of an altitudinal gradient of vegetation', aimed to develop an ecological restoration project in an area of 24 hectares at an altitude of 300 to 900 meters. Five years after the end of the project, this study was...

Due to the orography, the nature of the soil and the amount of rainfall, landslides are very common in the Azores. Landslides create open spaces that are generally occupied by invasive plant species, worsening the problem of degradation of natural habitats in the Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme Special Protection Area (São Miguel Island). As part...

The restoration of riverside ecosystems plays a crucial role in the continuum of construction and maintenance techniques, promoting local and circular economies. This article aims to demonstrate the applicability of greener and more resilient approaches.

Iniciados em 2003, os trabalhos com o objetivo de salvar o priolo (Pyrrhula murina) e o seu habitat, as últimas manchas de floresta Laurissilva no maciço montanhoso da parte Este da Ilha de São Miguel, completam vinte anos. Durante estas duas décadas foram desenvolvidos diferentes projetos ao abrigo do programa LIFE, nomeadamente LIFE Priolo (2003-...

A monitorização automática de sinais acústicos é uma poderosa ferramenta de monitorização da biodiversidade, que tem beneficiado dos novos avanços na aquisição e análise de dados. Este tipo de “big data” tem um enorme potencial para ilhas oceânicas, com alta anagénese e baixa diversidade. Primeiro, mostramos esse potencial com gravadores acústicos...

The automated survey of acoustic signals is a powerful tool for biodiversity monitoring, that has profited from the new advances in data acquisition and analysis. This kind of “big data” has an enormous potential for oceanic islands, with high anagenesis and low diversity. First, we showcase this potential with acoustic loggers deployed during two...

O Priolo (Pyrrhula murina Godman, 1866) é a única ave terrestre endémica dos Açores. Com distribuição restrita à região montanhosa localizada na parte Este da ilha de São Miguel, o priolo tornou-se muito raro no século XX, e o seu estatuto de conservação foi classificado como “criticamente em perigo de extinção”. Com o objetivo de analisar as tendê...

O viveiro da SPEA nos Açores produz plantas que são utilizadas no restauro ecológico de habitats no âmbito de projetos LIFE. De forma a possibilitar o acompanhamento da capacidade produtiva deste viveiro, foi elaborado um protocolo de monitorização que se baseia no acompanhamento das sementes, armazenadas em lotes, que são utilizadas na produção de...

Protocolo de avaliação da vegetação em áreas restauradas de floresta Laurissilva dos Açores. Esta avaliação, centrada na avaliação da vegetação, deve ser aplicada antes do início das intervenções e, periodicamente, após a implementação de todas as etapas de restauro ecológico previstas no plano operacional para a área analisada.

In order to study the burrowing crab Neohelice granulata (Dana, 1851) in the northern limit of its distribution and to test the hypothesis that mesoscale factors are more deterministic than latitudinal variation in this crab life history, the population dynamics of this specie was studied in the Caceribú river (Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil). The se...

The Azores bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina Godman, 1866) is a rare Passeriformes endemic from the eastern part of São Miguel Island. This bird was almost considered extinct in the first half of the 20th century and, due to recent conservation measures, it has experienced a recovery since the beginning of the 2000s. Despite the attention given to this bi...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can be an effective tool for the conservation and management of marine coastal habitats. MPAs have been shown to halt habitat degradation, enhance the biomass of exploited species and diversity in general. Yet, we still know little about its role in halting the spread of non-native species. In this study, we assessed t...

Marine vegetation plays an important structuring role, delivering key functions and services to coastal systems the extent of which depends on the foundation species and their architecture. In increasingly urbanised coastlines, turf-forming macroalgae are replacing frondose morphotypes. Trophic relationships within these systems can be studied thro...

Technical report on the socio-economic impact of the LIFE Lands of Priolo project. The evaluation includes a quantification of the socio-economic benefits generated by the project investments and actions, and a qualitative assessment of the impact of the nature restoration and environmental education actions on the provision of ecosystem services a...

As part of the LIFE+ Terras do Priolo project, a monitoring protocol has been developed to monitor the control of invasive plants and the recovery of vegetation in the priority habitats targeted by the project. The data collected shows that in terms of shrubs and trees, the two species of greatest concern are Pittosporum undulatum and Clethra arbor...

After-LIFE plan for the LIFE Lands of Priolo project to be executed between 2019 and 2024 in the Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme SPA, São Miguel island, Azores.

The population dynamics of the nereidid polychaete Perinereis anderssoni, Kinberg, 1866 was investigated at Itaipu Beach (22°58'26.6"S 43°02'49.7"W), Niterói, Southeast Brazil. Surveys were taken monthly over two years (during low tide on the rocky intertidal shore. All specimens were measured for the width of the 10th chaetiger and grouped over 0....

The population dynamics and reproductive strategy of the polychaete Scolelepis goodbodyi (Jones, 1962), were investigated between June 2009 and May 2010 at Manguinhos beach, southeastern, Brazil. A total of 9,242 individuals were collected. The density did not differ significantly from one month to another. The estimated values of the growth, recru...

Trawling is known as one of less selective fishing gears and presents high index of accidental captures. The objective of this paper is to characterize the population structure, fecundity and relative growth of Leurocyclus tuberculosus often caught as bycatch in pink shrimp trawl. Sampling occurred between October 2008 and September 2009 in the coa...

A dinâmica populacional e produção secundária do caranguejo-violinista Uca rapax Smith, 1870 foi estudada por meio de amostras mensais em um período de 12 meses (julho de 2006 até junho de 2007) na Laguna de Itaipu, sudeste do Brasil com o objetivo de testar as predições sobre o gradiente latitudinal de produção secundária e razão P/B. Machos e fêm...

The population of Catapaguroides microps A. Milne-Edwards and Bouvier, 1892 in the Campos Basin was studied with an emphasis on its composition in the Northern and Southern parts of the Basin, the different gender sizes, sex ratio, and size class distribution. Specimens were collected under the "Program for the Environmental Characterization of the...

A population of the fiddler crab Uca rapax (Smith, 1870) found in Itaipu Lagoon, southeast Brazil, was sampled monthly from July 2006 to June 2007 in order to study population and reproductive features. The sex ratio of the population was statistically different from the expected (1:1) in almost every month, with a predominance of males. The reprod...

We analyzed the demographic structure (sex ratio, size-frequency distributions) and morphometry of Munida microphthalma Leach, 1820 from a sample collected in the north coast of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. A total of 174 individuals were obtained (80 males and 94 females); 58.06% of the females were ovigerous. Sex ratio did not depart from...

The relative growth of the fiddler crab Uca rapax from a population of a tropical lagoon system of southeast Brazil was determined. Carapace height (CH), length (LMC) and height (HMC) of the major cheliped of males and abdomen width of females (AW) were employed as dependent variables and carapace width (CW) as independent variable. A total of 634...